Sincerity
by Relks the Disturbed
Summary: Weiss Schnee was an exceptional individual. She was considered extremely talented at many things: Fencing, academics, singing, knowledge and use of Dust. These were just a few of the things she excelled at. What she did not excel at was apologies. Just a simple oneshot I did to try and get around a block. Enjoy!


**Alrighty, people, Relks the Disturbed here! Some of you might know me from A Wall Against The Dark, most won't. I know, I'm OC-team writing trash and I'm sorry, but the RWBYverse is such a cool place to build playthings and ruin their lives.**

 **ANY-WAY! I present to you my first attempt at writing Canon-character only RWBY fiction. This is idea popped into my head one day at work and I just sorta ran with it. Now I won't like, I just busted this thing out in a couple hours and haven't even bothered to proof-read it, but it's been soooooooo long since I posted anything that I was going writer's block-induced crazy and just had to get something out. If you like it, then happy day I don't suck. If not, I appreciate any criticism given, for how can we learn if we know not our mistakes.**

 **Disclaimer: RWBY is the property of RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum, may he rest in peace.**

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It was a beautiful late-afternoon in the Kingdom of Vale. Birds were chirping, the Sun was shining, and all in all, it was a wonderful day. To only add to the greatness of the day, it was the first day of Beacon's Spring Break. This left hundreds of Beacon Academy's students with plenty of time on their hands and a fantastic outdoors to spend it in.

Many students fled the campus as soon as the final bell had rung that previous Friday evening, off to visit family, party like wild animals, or otherwise just enjoy their free time. The members of Team RWBY had separated just at the start of the weekend, intent on maximizing their time off. Yang and Ruby had departed Saturday morning on their way back to Patch to visit their father, saying that they'd be back on Tuesday to drag the remaining two members of the team out to meet their eccentric father. Blake had secluded herself into the deepest recesses of the library, last seen with a stack of books almost as tall as she was. This left one Weiss Schnee spending a majority of her time that weekend in her dorm.

The young heiress had not, contrary to popular expectation, made any plans to travel back to Atlas during the break. As loathe as she was to admit it to anyone and no one, she did not particularly _want_ to see her family during the break. While she doubtlessly loved them and would enjoy seeing how they were doing, a considerable factor had made her hesitant: Her demeanor had changed. And, though many of the inhabitants of Beacon Academy would argue it was a change for the better, Weiss was positive her father would disagree.

So, here she sat, alone in her dorm room with nary a thing to do. A mug of freshly brewed coffee sat on the shelf between the two sets of precariously built bunk-beds, while the heiress herself lounged amongst the delightful softness of her comforter. A soft smile graced her face as she cast her gaze to the colossal white binder Ruby had stolen at the beginning of the semester, filled to the brim with completed assignments and carefully organized plans for future required projects. Her gazed swept across the room from the binder, taking in the freshly cleaned beds and meticulously categorized belongings of her fellow teammates. She was quite sure they would enjoy the dorm being neat and tidy when they returned.

"What to do now?" She pondered out loud as she reached for her coffee. She brought the mug to her lips in a motion that, while undeniably basic, detailed the grace and poise of manners that had been instilled in her since childhood. A demure sip of the caffeinated ambrosia sent a thrill of warmth through her and brought forth a small, pleasant smile. Her gaze swept the room again as a relaxed sigh escaped her lips, inspecting the room yet again for anything out of place.

Finding everything in the dorm to be satisfactory, she replaced the mug upon its plain brown coaster. It was then that the sudden silence, the total lack of presence, that filled the dorm truly dawned on her. For the last seven months, the only time that the dorm had been even remotely close to quiet was when all four girls had been asleep, and even thing Yang's snoring had been akin to that of a bear. At first it had grated upon the heiress's nerves to no end how her partner and partner's sister seem incapable of silence, but over time it had become something of a comfort to her. Without the constant sisterly bickering, laughter, and occasional dry comments from their resident Cat Faunus, the dorm room seemed almost empty.

"Mirror, Mirror, who is the loneliest of all?" she sang quietly to herself, slipping out from under the confines of her comforter and walking over to the dresser in the corner where her Scroll sat. She swiped in the security code to the device and opened her planner, fingers quickly tapping away at the screen to open a file labeled "To-Do List".

' _Now let's see,'_ she internally began, ' _Complete homework assignments for the break? Check. Clean and organize the dorm room? Done. Submit an order to the company to restock of red and yellow Dust? Sent and awaiting the order. All that's left is...'_ Weiss frowned as she scrolled down the screen to the single item on her list of things to do that she had been avoiding. There, in offensively dark, bold lettering was the single goal for herself that she had dreaded since it had been added to the list:

 _ **Apologize to, and thank, Jaune Arc.**_

Weiss's smile declined into a frown as she read over the line yet again. And again. And a third time, and still no easy way to complete the task readily supplied itself. She sighed as she tucked the Scroll into her pocket and gathered her thoughts.

She knew that she had to apologize to him. She did. It was just so… difficult. It had been over two weeks since the events of the Breach, and she had still neglected to pull the goofy knight aside and formally thank him for convincing Neptune to talk to her at the school dance. She also, she amended with a small huff, had to apologize to him for the, what had Yang called it? Ah, "full-blown Ice Queen blizzard treatment", yes that was it.

"Best to just get it over with," she murmured aloud as she traipsed over to her and Ruby's shared closet and retrieved her bolero jacket.

Without any further delay she left Team RWBY's dorm, and made the arduous, brief journey across the hall to the residence of one Team JNPR. She poised one well-manicured hand before the door, ready to knock. If only its owner could collect her thoughts enough to do so.

What would she say? 'Thank you, Jaune, and I'm sorry I was an icy harpy'? No, that wouldn't work. She was Weiss Schnee! She was supposed to be calm and elegant in any situation. Supposed to know that answers and be above the lesser peons of the Kingdoms. She was _supposed_ to be a lot of things, she reminded herself, but her team had taught her she didn't have to be.

It was just as she had finally composed herself and was ready to knock, that the door was suddenly yanked open, by none other than the object of her ministrations, "Weiss? Uh, what're you doing?"

Standing in front of her was Tall, Blonde and Scraggly himself, clad in a pair of gray sweatpants and a sleeveless black shirt. ' _Tall and Blonde, but not so scraggly anymore,'_ an abstract part of Weiss's mind noted as her eyes momentarily lingered on Jaune's now well-muscled arms and shoulders. She then realized she had been standing there for an abysmally long five seconds, ogling a boy she had vehemently insulted on multiple occasions.

Shaking herself from her stupor, Weiss put on her best neutral face, "I was actually wanting to talk with you, Jaune. May I come in?"

"Oh? Yeah, sure," Jaune fumbled, stepping backwards out of the doorway and gesturing for Weiss to come in. She did so with typical Schnee grace, though had to withhold a cringe as she noticed the rest of Team JNPR present. She had hoped to do this in private, but it was too late to back out now.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Jaune asked as he went over and sat on his bed. The four multi-colored gazes of Team JNPR settled on her collectively, Ren and Nora pouring over a large book on what Weiss presumed was Nora's bed, while Pyrrha was seated at one of the desks in the room brushing her long crimson hair. The heiress forced down the bubbling nervousness that crept up inside her and took a deep breath.

"Well, Jaune, I wanted to thank you," she began, locking her own icy blue eyes with the cerulean of JNPR's leader. " And, I also would like to apologize to you," she added hastily.

" _For?_ " In anyone else, Weiss would have assumed the simple question was to gloat, had the look of total confusion on Jaune's face not said otherwise. That, and it was Jaune, Weiss didn't think he was capable of feeling contempt.

"For convincing Neptune to come spend time with me at the dance," Weiss elaborated, her head tilting forward slightly as her arms came up beside her. "I know you were rather… infatuated with me, most of the year and that I was less than kind with my responses to you. So it was very kind and noble of you to help him."

"Oh, that." Jaune's look of confusion dissipated into one of modesty and mild embarrassment. "It was really no big deal. I'm just glad I could help a friend. Besides, it was the least I could do for harassing you about a date as much as I did."

"That… leads to my apology," Weiss segued awkwardly to her next point. "I will readily admit that your advances were less than appreciated," Jaune noticeably flinched at her words, "but, my responses and attitude toward you were a bit…."

"Heartless?" Pyrrha offered, Weiss catching the smallest glint of anger in those veridian eyes.

"Soul-crushingly direct?" Nora piped up, grinning as always.

"Harsh?" Ren simply sighed tiredly, putting the large book aside as both he and Nora were no longer focused on the text.

"Harsh," Weiss nodded, wincing at each suggestion issued. "And for that I am truly, sincerely sorry."

At first, the heir to the Arc legacy simply sat in silence. His teammates looked at him, noting his blank, shocked expression, the slackness of his jaw, and his drooped shoulders. Weiss herself resisted the urge to cringe, desperately hoping she hadn't said the wrong thing.

Then, just as quickly as the shock struck Jaune, it vanished and the blonde burst into uproarious laughter. The four others in the room stared, flabbergasted, as he fell from his bed. He was gasping for breath as he tried to reign in his laughing fit, but each attempt at control merely gave way to another fit of giggles and guffaws.

Weiss could feel the temperature of her face rising in unison with her temper, and with downward thrust of the arms and stamp of the foot, they reached their peak. "And just _**what**_ is so funny about my apology!?"

The sound of Weiss's angered voice, and the slightly hurt undertone therein, pulled Jaune from his laughing stupor. He waved his hands placatingly, a few more giggles escaping as he crawled back up his bed. Several deep breaths later, and the bumbling knight was ready to speak.

"I didn'-,heh, I didn't mean to offend you, Weiss," Jaune spoke, another chuckle slipping in. "It's just the situation. I pester you endlessly for weeks, flirt -badly I've been told- with you whenever possible, and refuse to accept 'No' as an answer, and _you_ apologize to _me_ for being mean? I'm sorry but the irony is too good. How about we just call it even?"

Weiss arched a single perfectly groomed eyebrow as she crossed her arms defensively, "Even?"

"Well, I annoyed the crap out of you, and you shot me down faster Coco at target practice, so I say 'I am sorry' and you say 'I am sorry' and we're even," Jaune shrugged. "I am, by the way. Sorry, I mean. I should've taken a hint,"

"That, sounds fair," Weiss agreed, her defensive posture relaxing. In truth, she had been incredibly worried about how this whole affair would go, especially with the thinly veiled glare Pyrrha had given her earlier. "Shall we let bygones be bygones?" she offered her right hand out to shake.

Jaune quickly rose to his feet and closed the distance, carefully grasping her hand and shaking once, "Deal." He said with his trademark goofy grin.

"Wonderful," Weiss smiled herself, a weight lifting from her shoulders. "Well, if you'll excuse me, then," she made to leave, but instantly felt a hand lightly grab her shoulder.

"Actually, I was about to get cleaned up, then we were all going to head to the cafeteria for dinner," Jaune said, quickly removing his hand as Weiss turned around. "Would you like to join us?" The Arc scion gave her his best winning smile, and her eyes swept across JNPR dorm. Nora was giving her an encouraging smile as well, Ren was Ren, and to her surprise Pyrrha's former, if subtle, rage had subsided into a genuine smile of her own.

"You know, Arc, I think I'd like that."


End file.
